Our friend decided to donate funds from her traditional IRA to a charity. All the official Schwab forms were filled out. Check when directly from Schwab to charity. Schwab checked a box saying 'tax liability not determined' on the IRA's 1099. Tax accountant handled this just like a normal IRA distribution and listed the funds as a donation.

A few questions.

1. Did your friend qualify to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution as described in Pub 590?

2. What code was in Box 7 of the 1099-R?

3. What did Schwab say when you inquired?

BTW, 1099-R's for IRA distributions are always supposed to be marked "taxable amount not determined."